Main Menu The main menu for MCPS Daily Attendance is organized into three columns: The first column is for attendance data entry such as absences and reason codes. A student schedule look-up is provided as a help feature. The second column lists menu choices for maintenance of information in the attendance system that is collected and entered at the school level. This includes contact information and bus numbers for individual students, general information for the school such address and phone numbers, a password change option, and a utility for local school emergency closings. The third column lists all reports related to attendance, including an option to print rosters for teachers to record attendance. The date field on the main screen always defaults to the current date, however, the date can be changed on the main menu as well as in several other locations in the application to allow for recording of information for previous days. 1
Recording Student Absences There are two ways to record student absences and student absence reasons: By designated attendance classes (such as all 1 st period classes). (Attendance by Class) By individual student. (Attendance by Student) The decision to use one over the other is at the discretion of the user. However, if many students are absent from school, recording absences on class screens is more efficient. If only a few students are absent from the entire school, it may be easier to use the Attendance by Student to record absences. Attendance by Class To record absences for all classes meeting during a designated period of the day: Select Attendance by Class from the main menu. Select the class period to be used to record all of the day s absences. Select a class section from the drop down list. Click Display Class List. 2
Attendance for a student is recorded in the Status column by choosing the appropriate option from the drop down list. The Status is always set to Present as the default. If no other option is selected, the status will remain as the default selection, which is present. STATUS Teacher Last Name, First Name To record an absence for a student: Make sure that the date at the top of the attendance screen is correct for the attendance that is being reported. You are taking/changing attendance for: DAY, DATE. Note: If the date is not correct for the absence being recorded, click the back button on the browser to return to the main menu and correct the date. Click on the arrow in the drop down box in the status column, (next to the student s name). Click on the absence status for the student. The new selection will now be displayed in the window in place of Present. Select a reason code in the Reason column if available at the same time. When all students are marked for this class, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the Save button. To record absence reason codes for students on the class screens: Organize the absence notes by class. Verify that the date at the top of the screen matches the absence notes. If not, use the back button on the browser to go back to the main menu to change the date. Navigate to each class list and select the correct absence reason for each student. When all notes are entered for the students in this class, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on Save Attendance. If the absence notes are organized by student name or by student number, reasons can be recorded on another screen. (See Attendance by Student) Additional Information available on the Attendance by Class screen: Student ID number: Click on the ID number for the student to display a screen with student demographic information. Sign In and Sign Out columns: display any sign in or sign out times that have been entered and saved for the student on the partial day absence screen found under the Attendance by Student option. Absent and Late columns: display cumulative absence information for the year to the current date. 3
Attendance by Student Select Attendance by Student to record absence information for individual students. This can be used to record either a student s absence or a reason code for the same day or previous days of absence. To record an absence using Attendance by Student: Set the date for the student s absence. Enter the student s ID number or part or the last name in the space provided. (Follow the example) If several students in the school have the same or similar last name, there may be more than one name in the selection field on the next screen. Select the correct student from the list of names in the drop-down list. Select either All Day or Partial Day absence. 4
Absence - All Day A reason can be entered for one day or for a series of consecutive days. This screen is also used to record future absences for a student who will be absent for one day or many days. To record an all day absence (or absences) for a student: If the student was absent for one day, set both Absent from and TO date fields to the same date If the student was absent for two or more consecutive days, set the Absent from and the TO date fields to different dates. Select a reason code from the list. Click on the button labeled SAVE. Absence - Partial Day Use this screen if a student is absent for part of a day. This screen permits the selection of a reason code and recording of a Sign in Time or Sign out Time. These times will be displayed on the main class screen for this student for this date. Note the warning on the bottom of the screen. If Save is clicked without selecting a reason code, any prior reasons that were saved for this date will be removed. This feature can be used to correct a data error. To record a partial day absence: Select a status for When Absent. Select a Reason Code. Enter Sign In or Sign Out time. Click SAVE. 5
Lookup Student Schedule Access to student schedules is provided as a utility for the attendance secretary to locate any student in the school. To find a student schedule: Select the menu option Lookup Student Schedule. Enter either the student s ID number or the student s last name or part of the name as in the example. If more than one student has a similar last name, select the correct student from the list. Click Continue to display the student s schedule. Information Maintenance Student Contacts The Student Contact menu choice is optional. It provides a place to enter information for each student such as primary contact person and phone numbers. To enter student contact information: Select a student from the list of student names. Select an option to either enter a new contact or to modify already existing contact information for the student. 6
Enter New Contact Information Select either Yes or No for Primary Contact. Make a selection for Relationship from the drop-down list. Type in any other available information. Click Save. School Information The School Information screen allows the input of school specific items such as address, phone number, and principal, which may be needed for any reports that are generated. Information can be entered and saved. Entries can be updated at any time. 7
Emergency School Closing If an individual school is to be closed for a day due to an emergency, any absences already reported for students will be removed. Students will not be charged with an absence for the day. Note: All attendance is closed centrally in the event all schools are closed due to an emergency. Select Weather or Non Weather related closure. Type in a reason for the closing. Two verification messages will be displayed asking are you sure you what to close school. Enter Bus Numbers The menu selection Enter Bus Numbers enables a school to record student bus information and to print it in a roster displayed by class or by bus number. To enter bus numbers for an entire class: Select the menu option labeled Enter Bus Number. To enter bus numbers for an entire class, click on the arrow for the drop-down list labeled Select Section. 8
Enter the bus numbers for the students. Click Save Bus Numbers. To enter bus information for an individual student: Select Enter Bus Numbers from the main menu. Select either Enter a Student ID Number or Enter Student Last Name. (Follow the example provided) Enter numbers for the student. Click Save Bus Numbers. 9
Reports Absence Bulletin To create an absence bulletin for a day: Select Absence Bulletin from the main menu to display a report of all students who are absent for a day. Click Continue on the main menu screen. To display an absence bulletin for another day, change the date on the main menu screen before selecting Absence Bulletin. To print the absence bulletin, use the print function of the browser. Absence Bulletin With Contacts To create an absence bulletin for a day containing student contact information in addition to absences: Select Absence Bull + Phone # s on the main menu. To display an absence bulletin for another day, change the date on the main menu screen before selecting this option. To print the bulletin, use the print function of the browser. 10
Student s History A student s history report provides a summary of absences with dates, reasons and status for a student for a specified range of dates. The report can be printed using the browser s print function. To create an attendance report for an individual student: Select Student s History from the main menu. Set the date range for the report. Enter either the student s ID number or part or the entire last name. (See the example) Select the student from the drop-down list of names. Click Continue to display the student s report. For a one-day report, make both dates the same. For a period of days, set a beginning and an end date. 11
Perfect Attendance To generate a report of all students in the school with perfect attendance: Select the main menu option, Perfect Attendance. Set the date range for the report. Click Continue to display a report organized alphabetically by student last name. Class Counts To create a list of all classes with class counts: Select the main menu option Class Counts. The report takes a minute or so to run before it will be displayed on the screen. Note: Classes are organized by Course Codes. 12
Attendance Roster To print rosters for distribution to teachers to use to record attendance information: Select the Attendance Roster from the main menu. There are two options: print an individual teacher or print all teacher rosters in a batch print. To print an individual teacher s roster, select the teacher from the drop-down list. To print rosters for all teachers, leave the teacher selection field blank. Click Continue to launch the report. A warning will be displayed indicating that the report takes a few minutes. Click the button labeled Run Report. The Acrobat program will open on the screen. The report will be generated. Note: the first page of the report is a blank page however there is a page count at the bottom left of the screen indicating the number of rosters to be printed. Click the forward arrow in the Acrobat program to see the first roster. To print the rosters, click on File in the menu bar and select the Print command. To return to the main menu, use the drop down arrow next to the Back button of IE. 13
Unexcused Absence Report To create a report of all students who are unexcused for a period of time: Select Unexcused Absence Report from the main menu. Set the range of dates for the report or set both dates to the same date to produce a report for one day. 14